Red Hat Slips: FYQ2 Rev in Line, Q3, Year Views Light

By Tiernan Ray

Shares of software maker Red Hat (RHT) are off 17 cents at $57.37 after the company this afternoon reportedfiscal Q2 revenue in line with analysts’ expectations and earnings per share that missed by a penny.

Revenue in the three months ended in August rose 15%, year over year, to $322.6 million, yielding EPS of 28 cents, excluding some costs.

Analysts had on average been modeling revenue of $322 million and EPS of 29 cents.

Note that Red Hat said it gave up a penny of earnings per share because of acquisition costs in the quarter, something analysts may not have factored into their models.

Red Hat said its deferred revenue balance rose 25%, year over year, to $813 million.

Update: During the call, management forecast fiscal Q3 revenue in a range of $336 million to $339 million, and earnings per share of 28 cents to 29 cents, excluding some costs. The company sees full-year revenue in a range of $1.32 billion to $1.33 billion, and EPS of $1.15 to $1.17.

Those estimates are bit below the consensus of $340 million and 30 cents for this quarter and $1.33 billion and $1.19 per share for the full year.

About Tech Trader Daily

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.